more than just waffles (which are delicious, by the way)  
 
  Friday, October 03, 2008

Apples and pears



Last weekend we had a great time (and great weather) picking apples and pears at a farm nearby. Elstar apples and Conference pears were in season -- my favorite kinds! The fruit trees are pruned to be short, more like bushes, so it was easy for the kids, even the baby, to join in. We ended up with 11 kilos (!) of fruit, but I gotta say, it was really hard for the kids to stop adding to the bags. So, to use up some of this fruit, desserts are in order. I've re-posted one of my favorite recipes for Dutch appeltaart here. (Here's the original post as well.)





Baby-sized Conference pears: perfect for snacking.


You must do a bit of taste-testing...


... and make sure to wear waterproof boots.


Short trees make you pick too many, of course.


A pear tree tipping under the weight of all that deliciousness.

Dutch Appeltaart
makes one 9-inch taart

For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (150 grams)
zest from one mandarin orange
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (about 175 grams), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 egg
1 slice white bread, processed into breadcrumbs in a food processor

For the filling:
2 pounds apples (I like Granny Smith for its texture and tartness)
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla


  1. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Combine the flour, brown sugar, orange zest and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and cut it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. (Alternatively, use a food processor.) Stir in the egg with a fork, then use your hands to knead the mixture until it resembles, well, a ball of dough. Flatten the dough into a 6-inch disk, wrap in cling wrap and place in refrigerator for at least an hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out 3/4 of the dough between two sheets of cling wrap to about a 13-inch circle (set aside the other 1/4 of the dough for the top of the tart). Set it into the springform pan. Don't worry if it tears; the dough is really forgiving, so just pat it into the bottom and sides of the pan. Scatter the breadcrumbs along the bottom of the tart crust. Place it into the refrigerator while preparing the filling.
  3. Core and peel the apples. Divide each apple into 16 slices. (Place the apples in a bowl of ice water so they don't turn brown.) Drain the apple slices and combine with the cornstarch, salt, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
  4. Roll out the remaining crust dough into strips to create a lattice-like top. (Don't worry about making it perfect-- it'll sort of 'melt' in the oven anyway.)
  5. Place the apple mixture (but make sure not to include the accumulated liquid) into the tart crust and lay the lattice-dough-strips on top.
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove and cool on a cooling rack-- once it's cooled to room temperature, remove the springform sides. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Link:
Crispywaffle
: Original post of Appeltaart: apple pie, Dutch stylie

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posted by sheryl | 11:47 AM | comments (0)


 

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Long weekend in Italy


Villa Olmo, Lake Como

I was going through our photos recently and realized that I had never posted pics from a long weekend in Italy that the little chica and I took to visit her friend in Bergamo. Although it was a very short trip, it was good eating, as usual! We stayed in Bergamo with our friends the Myliuses, and took a couple of day trips: one to Lake Como and another to Verona, both of which are really charming places to visit (even though the day we were at Lake Como, there was a freakish rain/windstorm that seemed to catch everyone off guard!)



Donatella made us a delicious appletart from a family recipe, among other yummy things to eat.



Of course we picked up sweets at this bakery in Citta Alta, Bergamo.



At one of the bakeries in Bergamo, Donatella pointed out a specialty: a giant croissant filled with Nutella. Bon appetito!



Donatella took us to an amazing restaurant the night before we left -- La Colombina, which specializes in la cucina bergamasca, total dishes from Bergamo. Here are casoncelli, the local filled ravioli served with butter, bacon and sage, and risotto with a red wine reduction. Very very rich but really delish. (and also affordable, with the most expensive dish being only 12 euro!)


In season peaches at the neighborhood market near the Mylius home.



The town center of Verona is really compact and walkable. Here is a statue of Berto Barbarani, a famous poet from Verona.


And of course no trip is complete without gelato! Here is the little chica's favorite flavor: yogurt.

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posted by sheryl | 3:46 PM | comments (2)


 

Monday, September 15, 2008

Raspberry oatmeal bars



My friend Dana here in Den Haag asked me for this recipe. These are little bar cookies that are especially nice for school lunches -- they transport well, and they're sweet, but not too sweet, and they have kind of this granola bar thing going because of the oatmeal. That said, they are still dessert -- they have a really buttery shortbread base in which part of it is mixed up with the oats and nuts to create a streusel topping. Really nice for an afternoon snack.

Raspberry oatmeal bars
adapted from Cooks Illustrated
makes about 24 bar cookies



Ingredients
2-1/2 cups AP flour (350 grams)
2 sticks of butter (220 grams), cut into small chunks, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (60 grams)
1/2 cup rolled oats (45 grams)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (50 grams)
3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (100 grams), thawed, if frozen
3/4 cup raspberry jam (240 grams)
2 teaspoons lemon juice

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Reserve 2 small chunks of the butter and set aside (this will be for the streusel).
  2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, salt and sugar. With the paddle attachment and the mixer on low, add the butter one piece at a time. Mix until it looks like wet sand starting to clump together (this is a great tip from Cooks Illustrated -- usually, or rather, always, recipes call for a mixture to resemble "coarse meal" which sometimes seems meaningless.).
  3. Measure out half the mixture (about 1-1/4 cup) and set aside for the streusel. Press the rest of the mixture down into the baking pan with your hands, making sure it's as even as possible. Bake the shortbread for 14-15 minutes, until it is lightly brown.
  4. In the meantime, combine the remaining flour-butter mixture with the oats, brown sugar, and nuts. Adding the butter you set aside earlier, rub the mixture together with your fingers until it creates large clumps and kind of adheres together, but still looks crumbly.
  5. In a small bowl, mash up the raspberries a bit, then add the jam. Test for sweetness/sourness and add the lemon juice if it's too sweet (the lemon also keeps the raspberries a nice bright color). Mash it together. Pour the raspberry mixture over the shortbread and spread with a spatula.
  6. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the shortbread and raspberries.
  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Cool on a rack until room temperature or just warm, then cut into squares.

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posted by sheryl | 9:13 PM | comments (3)


 

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Madeleines (with the right tin)



Last year, I posted a recipe for teacakes because I couldn't find a proper madeleine tin here in Den Haag. I even went to the chi-chi DOK kitchen shop in the Passage (definitely my fave kitchen shop in town) and asked about it: yes, they had silicone baking forms for madeleines as well as non-stick baking tins: neither of which I wanted. Not that you couldn't bake using those: I just feel like the regular tins maybe brown better -- perhaps because you have to properly prep them with butter and flour. (Or maybe it's just because I find them more aesthetically pleasing? Yes, I'm shallow.)

A few weeks ago, I was standing in the baking section at DOK with my friend Deb (who was visiting from Boston), and lo and behold, the regular metal madeleine baking tins were shining at me from a lower shelf. Yay! Deb bought me two of them as a prezzie (thanks Deb!), and I was on my way to baking proper madeleines.

Like the teacakes recipe, these have a mild orange flavor. I adjusted the recipe to add baking powder, which is far from authentic for madeleines. However, I find it easier to deal with because you are not entirely dealing with eggs for all the lift -- I don't have a ton of patience to "carefully fold" the flour into the eggs. With the baking powder, this recipe is a bit more forgiving. And trust me, you won't notice it when you are dipping a madeleine into some tea, a la Proust.

Almost classic madeleines
makes 24 large madeleines, or 80 tiny ones

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces butter (170 grams), melted and cooled to room temperature
zest of one orange
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
powdered sugar (optional, for sprinkling)

  1. Prepare the baking tins by buttering liberally, then sprinkling flour and tapping out the excess. Preheat oven to 450 F (220 C).
  2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
  3. Combine the butter and orange zest in a medium bowl and set aside.
  4. Combine the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat with whisk attachment for 3 minutes on medium high, until mixture is light and airy.
  5. Sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture and fold in until it is all combined and there isn't any more dry flour. Spoon out about a quarter of the flour-egg mixture and stir into the butter. Pour the butter mixture back into the flour-egg mixture and fold in.
  6. Spoon into the baking tins (each shell form should be about 3/4 full). Bake for about 8 minutes, until risen and golden brown.
  7. Cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then remove madeleines and cool on a baking rack until just warm. They are delicious with tea or coffee.



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posted by sheryl | 3:18 PM | comments (4)


 

Friday, August 08, 2008

Rhubarb strawberry crumble



One of my favorite ingredients lately is rhubarb. This may be because I didn't grow up eating it at all, so it has that interesting novelty to it. I remember being curious about it in the supermarket, but that was the extent of it. We lived in a Filipino household, and it's not like they grow rhubarb in the Philippines, so that's that. My husband Kyle on the other had, grew up in a house with a giant vegetable garden out back where his parents would pull up loads of rhubarb every summer. I was actually introduced to properly using it as an ingredient by his mom, who, as I wrote in a previous post, made the most delicious rhubarb bread.

This recipe is for a crumble, which is one of my favorite desserts to make. First, it's super easy to make, like, right before dinner. Secondly, you can really improvise with the fruit, depending on what is in season and what you have on hand. You have blueberries? Pears? Go for it, just adjust the sugar accordingly. Rhubarb naturally loves strawberries and oranges, so try to use one or both of these (in the form of juice, zest, etc.) when using it. They are very, very happy together.

The crumble part is lifted from a Jamie Oliver recipe that I love because it seems to call for 100 grams of everything (sugar-- for the topping, flour, oats and butter), making it a very easy recipe to remember.

Please eat this with vanilla ice cream. (Or just as good, quark ice cream.) It just isn't the same without it!

Rhubarb strawberry crumble
adapted from At Home With Jamie

Ingredients
1 pound rhubarb, cut into chunks
1 pound strawberries, halved
200 grams brown sugar (1 cup, packed)
zest and juice of one small orange
100 grams AP flour (1-1/2 cup)
100 grams butter, cold and cut into chunks (7 tablespoons butter)
100 grams oatmeal (1-1/3 cup)
a pinch of salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). In a medium saucepan, combine the rhubarb with 100 grams of the sugar, salt, and the zest and juice of the orange. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the strawberries, if using.
  2. Combine the flour, butter and remaining brown sugar (100 grams) in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the oats and toss it through with your fingers.
  3. Spoon the rhubarb mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle the oatmeal mixture over the rhubarb. Bake for 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the topping is brown and fragrant.
  4. Cool and serve with ice cream.


Links
Crispy Waffle: Yvonne's rhubarb bread
Crispy Waffle: Vanilla ice cream
Crispy Waffle: Quark ice cream

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posted by sheryl | 9:26 PM | comments (4)


 

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Strawberry shortcake


Cute little Holland strawberries

I always do this. I always wait until something is going out of season before I'm like, "Oh no! It's going out of season!" This happens to me every summer with strawberries. We see the first ones appear in April or May, and usually I tell the kids, "Let's wait a bit -- those ones will be too sour yet." Then June is prime time for the berries and I usually am thinking, "Still a while to go while they're in season." Then I start seeing strawberries from Spain show up in the market and it's finally, "Uh oh..."

So with a last hurrah, I'll usually make strawberry shortcake. I actually make scone-ish, biscuit type shortcake, which I think with it's crunchy edge, tastes a lot better with berries and whipped cream. And speaking of whipped cream, I prefer this with sweetened creme fraiche, or even sweetened Greek yogurt. This is a super easy dessert, easily prepared right before dinner so the the biscuits bake while you are eating.

If you prefer regular whipped cream, check out my recipe for strawberry waffles (another great dessert prepared in almost the same way.)

Don't be like me -- don't wait until they're going out of season. But if you do, this is a great way to have that last in-season bite.


Strawberry shortcakes
8 servings

For strawberry mixture:
2 pints fresh strawberries (about 1 liter volume)
1/4 cup sugar (50 g)
a pinch of salt

For biscuits:
2 cups AP flour (250 g)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar (50 g)
1 stick (110 g) butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk (120 ml)
1 cup creme fraiche, with 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon sugar stirred in
  1. Quarter the strawberries, and take 1/3 of them and mash with a fork. Combine the mashed strawberries with the quartered strawberries and sprinkle with the sugar and salt. Allow to macerate for about a half hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (22o C). Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the cold butter. With a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (You can also combine the ingredients in a food processor and give it a whiz for a few seconds.)
  3. Whisk together the egg and milk and pour into the flour mixture. Using a spatula, mix until the dough comes together. Turn it out onto a floured surface and flatten out.
  4. With a knife, cut into 8 squares. Place the squares on a baking sheet prepped with parchment paper. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove and cool on a cooling rack.
  6. To serve: Place the biscuits on the serving plates, then split the biscuits lengthwise. Spoon the strawberry mixture on each biscuit and top with the creme fraiche.



Almost gone!

Links:
Crispywaffle: Strawberry waffles

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posted by sheryl | 8:14 PM | comments (0)


 

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Midwest summer

Here are some more from our trip to Milwaukee and Chicago...


Sparkly. We attended my friend Sandra's wedding in Chicago. Here's her cake, beautifully appropriate for the Fourth of July (and we even got to watch the fireworks from the boat on Lake Michigan where she had the reception!)


Tasty. My brother's girlfriend Marnie cooked dinner for us. She is an amazing cook! Here are the brussel sprouts with Asiago (from one of her fave recipes on the excellent food blog, 101 Cookbooks.)


Creamy. More from Marnie: creamy bacony stuffed mushrooms.



Refreshing
. My friend Jen and her little boy made ice pops for the kids and me. They were made out of a nice, not-to-sweet peach fruit juice. Perfect for a hot afternoon!


Crispy. The great thing about being home for Fourth of July weekend is getting to have lots and lots of barbeque! Here are some of the excellent marinated bbq pork by my friend Mark's wife, Jessica and my friend Mayette. Man, that crispy fatty part is the best.


Wisconsinite/Filipino. If you grow up in Wisconsin, you grow up on bratwurst. But being Filipino, at our house it was never served grilled on a bun. Instead we grilled them and ate it with rice and tomatoes, or pancit. Believe me, an excellent combination.


Trashy. On the way back from Chicago I was jonesing for some Castle, the tiny steamed burgers that are ultimately, to be honest! pretty mediocre. (See my post on Kopps to read about great burgers in Wisconsin.) Of course, (as I realized all through college) you only have to have them at 1 o'clock in the morning after a night out (a la Harold and Kumar) to find out how truly outstanding they really are!


Beefy. My mom received a bunch of steaks from my aunt, who lives in Ohio. She and my uncle donate money to their local 4H beef breeding program. Basically, the group raises a steer for beef, the meat then being divided among those supporting the program. (I believe this is how it works-- correct me if I'm wrong!) I find this program interesting for a few reasons: it seems to put children in touch with animals and how they are raised for meat -- super topical these days, especially as a backlash against industrial farming. Secondly, supporters of the program essentially get a local product, great for those who are interested in 'eating local'. When I had some of this, even before I knew, I was like, "These steaks are awesome-- where did you get them?" It doesn't hurt either that my dad is awesome at the grill.

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posted by sheryl | 9:21 PM | comments (3)


 

Monday, July 14, 2008

I heart frozen custard


The flavor of the day when we were at Kopps: Peanut butter banana nut. The kids went loco over it.

When we took a much overdue trip to Milwaukee and Chicago a couple weeks ago, one of the things I was obsessed with was frozen custard. Oh, you haven't had frozen custard? Let's just say it is one thing you must eat if you like a) sweet things or b) food. Seriously, it is almost worth a trip across the ocean all by itself.

Basically, it is like a creamier, smoother version of ice cream. Oh yes, and also fattier and denser than gelato. First, a primer on what is important with ice cream texture. There are a couple of things that have a major impact on texture: butterfat and overrun. Butterfat content typically creates a "fattier" smooth texture of ice cream that 'coats the tongue'. Yes, sounds gross, but is important to texture and taste. Overrun is the amount of air that mixed into the ice cream as it is churned.

Here is what is special about frozen custard:
  1. It has an egg custard base (hence, the name frozen custard).
  2. It has a high butterfat content (it must have at least 10 percent butterfat, like ice cream, although my favorite custard, Kopp's, has 16 percent butterfat).
  3. It has low overrun of only 20 percent, while regular ice cream has between 50 to 100 percent overrun (that's a lot of air!). This is due to the special, freaky-looking churner that spits out frozen custard in a giant vanilla or chocolate snake of frozen goodness. It churns more slowly, thereby preventing too much air being churned in.
  4. Frozen custard is served at a higher temperature, normally 18 degrees Fahrenheit rather than the 10 degrees Fahrenheit that standard ice cream is served at. This prevents it from numbing your tongue, and because it is so dense, it doesn't seem to melt that quickly. Perfect!
Do not confuse real frozen custard with soft serve ice cream. Soft serve is just an imposter, usually with a high amount of overrun and totally artificial flavors. Avoid it!

The Milwaukee area is loaded with real frozen custard joints. My personal fave is Kopps, simply because I grew up on it. They always carry vanilla and chocolate, then two flavors of the day. (My favorite flavor of the day? Caramel cashew-- it has loads of real cashews.) My mom practically swears by the chocolate malts at Gilles Frozen Custard (she is the biggest chocolate malt aficionado I know) -- she said it has the most malt flavor of any of the custard stands. Leon's is the classic stand where Bill Clinton visited. (Where has he not eaten?) If you are outside the Milwaukee area, Culvers will do if you need to get a fix, (they are a chain that started in Wisconsin) but I don't find their custard nearly as good as other Milwaukee-only joints. (But I dig those burgers!)

Speaking of which, the burgers at Kopps are not so shabby either. And you gotta love that the fried onions, ketchup, mustard and relish are free condiments, while all the veggies like lettuce and tomato cost extra. Why try to dress up a butter burger with healthy stuff? Honesty is delicious.


Which one, which one?


My all-time fave: vanilla at Kopps

Links:
Wikipedia: Frozen custard
Kopps Frozen Custard
Gilles Frozen Custard
Wikipedia: Leon's Frozen Custard
Culvers

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posted by sheryl | 9:40 PM | comments (7)


 

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tim Tam Slam



Our friend Fiona was kind enough to bring us some Tim Tams, chocolate covered biscuits, from Australia a few weeks ago. Tim Tams really are an ordinary, basically mediocre biscuit, but this was an extra special treat for one reason: the Tim Tam Slam. One of our friends introduced us to the Slam a while back, and we were instantly addicted. Basically, you use the biscuit as a 'straw' for hot coffee, tea or milk. The biscuit totally disintegrates into a delicious, oozy, sloppy mess.

And thus, you achieve Cookie Nirvana.

Here's a video in which I demonstrate.

Links:
Wikipedia: Tim Tam Slam

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posted by sheryl | 8:28 PM | comments (2)


 

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Rice with everything


Clockwise, from top left: Canarian mojo, Chickpeas stew, Homemade naan, Chicken katsu


I started a Facebook group called Rice With Everything. (In hypnotic voice, "You must join....") Basically, I realized, when I was watching Kyle eat spaghetti sauce with rice the other day, that yes, I have managed to have an impact on him. Good or bad is up to you.

In conjunction with the group creation, I've rounded up my "must-eat-with-rice" recipes. Peruse, and make sure to eat it all with rice.


Recipes that are great with rice

Rice pudding (rice for dessert-- how can you go wrong?)
Chicken katsu
Stir-fried snow peas
Risotto with dried porcini mushrooms (okay, not with rice, but is rice itself)
Quiche with bacon and cheese (yes, I do eat this with rice. Crazy, I know.)
Homemade naan
Butter chicken curry
Chickpeas stew
Canarian mojo (put this sauce on anything you want spicy. Although not traditional, it is off the hook with rice dishes.)
Baked salmon with kecap manis
Beef with coconut milk (ginitang)


On a related note, in all seriousness, there is a dark side. I read this article about the rising cost of rice and a worldwide shortage. If you've ever been to the Philippines, you'll understand why this situation is so dire: it is basically the only food that much of the population was able to afford. I felt the rice increase halfway across the globe-- the 20 lb bag at the Chinese grocery was nearly one-third more expensive. If I'm feeling the impact of rice prices, how much more devastating is it in the developing world? (One way to have a small impact? Play FreeRice.com.)

Even in the U.S., many people are hoarding rice because of the shortages. This may be hysteria (for now, at least), but I'll tell you what this most has to do with: rice type. For westernized Asians, this most impacts the sort of rice you buy. I gotta admit, when I have to buy anything other than jasmine rice (or even particular brands of jasmine rice) I can seriously tell the difference. I'm not exaggerating when I say I may have a freak out if the specific rice bag I normally buy is unavailable, or if the price is jacked. I'm hoping this hysteria in SF is just that: hysteria.

Links
Facebook: Rice with Everything
FreeRice.com
NY Times: A Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice
NY Times: A Run on Rice in Asian Communities

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posted by sheryl | 8:58 PM | comments (0)


 

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Kickass brownies



So I think I've finally done it. I finally have the perfect kickass brownie recipe.
I know your heart is palpitating with excitement (sit down, you don't want to faint) but at the same time, you're wondering, "What makes it perfect?"

We can all argue (for days, perhaps) the merits of fudgy versus chewy versus cakey brownies. Believe me, unless you are some sort of psychotic chocolate hater, you probably have an opinion on it. What I've realized is that you can't please everybody when it comes to brownies, so you might as well just make yourself happy. What do I like? For me, it is the chewy with the crackly top.

I thought I had come across the right recipe, but somehow this ended up feeling too... I don't know, intensely chocolate, almost like a flourless chocolate cake. I've been trying to find something ever since that has more chewiness, still chocolatey but doesn't knock you out-- or basically not falling over from the chocolate and sugar rush afterward.

I came across a NY Times article on this very subject. (Great article-- with a brief history of the brownie, just in case you are a food nerd like me.) In it, one of the recipes had the unusual ingredient of brown sugar, which I never thought to put into brownies. I gave this recipe a go and there was my Baking Epiphany: the brown sugar added moisture, which made it chewy, and a quick whisk on the eggs gave it the crinkly top. The only thing I found is that it was too sweet. So I adjusted the sugar by cutting back on the white sugar, and replacing some of it with brown sugar. One major plus point with brownies is that you don't have to bother with super expensive chocolate. Believe me, it won't make a difference. Just use chocolate that you would choose to eat. (If you hate Hershey's, don't use it. I'll admit, I don't like Hershey's. But I'll use Ghirardelli for brownies any day.) That is one of the things that is awesome about brownies: they are totally common, totally proletariat, but even the most pretentious, Valrhona-only-eating foodie still digs them.

With this recipe, the brownies taste even better the next day (if they last that long). They become sort of chewier; just make sure you wrap them up tightly when storing.

Kickass brownies
adapted from the NY Times
Makes 9 large brownies or 12 smallish ones

Ingredients
4 ounces butter (110 grams)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (110 grams)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (155 grams)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (56 grams)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Butter and flour an 8-inch pan.
  2. Melt the butter and chocolate over low heat in a small, heavy saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in salt, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla. Cool until just warm.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs lightly. Whisk in the chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour and nuts.
  4. Pour the batter in the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes, until the top is shiny (you can check whether it's done with a skewer, but crumbs should easily cling to the skewer. Try not to overbake). Cool on a baking rack.
Links:
Fine Cooking: Baking Brownies Just Right: Cakey, Chewy, or Fudgy
NY Times: Simple Pleasure, American Style

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posted by sheryl | 8:56 PM | comments (3)


 

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Worst drinks in America

This article is great, with a totally disgusting breakdown of what are in some of America's favorite drinks. (Whoever thought that Vitamin Water is so unhealthy? Shame on you 50 Cent!) Ever since I read once that one Cinnabon contains as many calories as a pork chop dinner, I've been fascinated by what we are basically eating when it comes to throwaway fatty sugary foods.

I will admit this though: I love that Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo. (Although knowing that it has more sugar than an entire bag of chocolate chips will definitely make me think twice next time.)

Link:
Yahoo: America's Unhealthiest Drinks Exposed


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posted by sheryl | 2:50 PM | comments (2)


 

Friday, May 09, 2008

Oatmeal pancakes



When we're not having waffles on the weekend, we're usually having pancakes. With Mothers Day around the corner, I started thinking about one of my favorites: oatmeal pancakes. My mom really likes pancakes, and she really likes oatmeal for breakfast. I came across a recipe for oatmeal pancakes in Debra Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It turns out they are in fact two great things that taste great together. And you get fiber in your weekend breakfast to boot.

My kids are big fans of these. I serve them with a sweetened yogurt banana topping. (Bananas and oatmeal: another great combo.) They are really nice with basically any fruit topping, or just maple syrup. If you're feeling really saucy you can try a Nutella chocolate sauce-- it is really delish with the yogurt-banana topping. Don't make this on a weekday or you'll be in trouble (unless whipping up pancakes before work is your idea of fun!).



Oatmeal pancakes
adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
makes about a dozen small pancakes


Ingredients
1-1/2 cup oatmeal
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
  1. Combine the oatmeal and buttermilk in a large bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes.
  2. In a smaller bowl, combine the sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add to the oatmeal mixture.
  3. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Add to the oatmeal mixture and whisk until just combined.
  4. Heat a lightly greased pan or griddle over medium heat. Drop batter in 1/4 cup portions and cook until bubbles form on the surface, then flip and cook on the other side for a bit longer. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200 F (90 C) oven.
Yogurt banana topping
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
3 tablespoons brown sugar (more or less for sweetness)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ripe banana, sliced
  1. Combine the yogurt, sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla and stir until combined. Taste for sweetness, adding more brown sugar if necessary.
  2. Add the banana and serve immediately.

Nutella topping
1/4 cup Nutella spread
3 tablespoons boiling water

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the Nutella with the water. Whisk quickly until smooth-- the chocolate will seize and will initially look kind of lumpy, but it will smooth out with whisking.
  2. Enjoy!

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posted by sheryl | 8:04 PM | comments (3)


 

Thursday, April 17, 2008

How to make Filipino leche flan

Yes, I know I've been terrible about posting (omg, has it really been almost a month??) But between starting a new job, being terribly sick and then having my kids terribly sick, I think it's understandable.

A few days ago one of my colleagues asked me if I've ever uploaded video for my blog. So I decided to make a Filipino style leche flan simply because on paper, it looks super easy because there are so few ingredients, but it is actually a bit difficult to make. I made at least a couple dozen of these babies before my mom (my food critic for all things Filipino) actually said, "Hey, this is good!"

So here is said video. Excuse the YouTube quality crappiness. I'll try to do something about that. Oh, and I'll post the recipe next. Enjoy!

Update: Man, YouTube turns videos into a GD crapfest. I updated the embed below to Google Video which has but a *slightly* higher image quality. But it still looks like I'm making leche flan in a flippin snowstorm. What gives?

Update 2: I LOVE Vimeo! Seriously, don't use anything else for embedded videos!


Making leche flan from Sheryl C. on Vimeo.

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posted by sheryl | 12:11 PM | comments (1)


 

Monday, March 10, 2008

Rice pudding



On my previous post, Crispy Waffle reader Kathleen asked about rice pudding. This was good timing because rice pudding is one of those things I've been craving a lot of lately. It is one of those foods that makes everyone as happy as a baby because it essentially resembles baby food. (But tastes better of course.)

This particular recipe is really easy because all it requires leftover rice; you can use already cooked rice. We always, always have leftover rice, usually sitting in the rice cooker from last night. (Go to any Asian's house. You'll probably find leftover rice from last night in the rice cooker.) One thing I noticed is that this recipe actually works best with room temperature rice. If the rice has been refrigerated overnight, it does not seem to absorb the milk as nicely, and the pudding becomes more soupy. So if you have leftover rice, make sure it is soft and at room temperature. Save the cold rice for fried rice.

If you don't have leftover rice, simply prepare 1 cup of uncooked rice for this recipe, as you would normally cook rice. You can make the below recipe immediately after the rice is cooked, and it'll come out fine.

One thing that makes this pudding extra yummy is that I use a vanilla pod rather than vanilla extract. You get those crunchy little bits of vanilla and a bigger hit of vanilla taste this way.

Rice pudding
makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups cooked rice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

  1. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients.
  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a simmer. Lower heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened.
  3. Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve cold later.

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posted by sheryl | 9:07 AM | comments (3)


 

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Revisiting a classic: chocolate chip cookies



I can bet nine times out of ten when I ask my kids what they want for dessert (and I'm in the mood to make it, that is) that they will ask for the same thing: chocolate chip cookies. Somehow this isn't surprising, even though I make tons of their other favorites: rice pudding, brownies, various tarts, ice cream even. Is it a lack of creativity? Or is it true that Americans are always craving chocolate chip cookies? (Actually, when their friends are over, none of whom are American, this is the one thing besides popcorn that they can all agree on eating).

I earlier posted a recipe on chocolate chip cookies, but this is the version that I almost always go to. A couple of key things: make sure to toast the nuts first (if you are using them). This makes a huge difference in flavor. This recipe, which I've adapted and adjusted from The Best Recipe, creates not-too-sweet cookies that are chewy, rather than crispy. Do take them out of the oven earlier rather than later-- if you overbake them, they will end up crunchy later on. (They are still great later on, but I won't lie; they are definitely best a few minutes out of the oven.)

A few weeks ago I was watching the movie Stranger Than Fiction. (Aside: I found that movie, cliched title and all, to be really inventive, funny and touching. Totally underrated!) In a pivotal scene, Maggie Gyllenhaal, playing a baker, gives Will Ferrell's character chocolate chip cookies. (Another funny aside: in the movie she is a tax-evading lefty kook. The name of her bakery? The Uprising.) Here is where both Kyle and I got distracted: the cookie looked great, but it was so so tiny! We were like, "what kind of baker bakes choco chip cookies the size of a dime?" Anyway, with these, you won't have a problem. Just dole at least a tablespoonful for each cookie and they will be nice and big, and taste just as good as that Stranger Than Fiction cookie looked.

Classic chocolate chip cookies
makes about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
2/3 cup (150 grams) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup (75 grams) granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (235 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (150 grams) chocolate chips
1/2 cup (50 grams) chopped walnuts (or pecans or almonds)

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
  3. Combine the cooled melted butter with the white and brown sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand or hand mixer. Mix at low speed.
  4. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat at low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the flour mixture. Beat together at low speed only until just combined. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
  5. Drop the dough in one-tablespoon portions onto the baking sheet, leaving a bit of space around each cookie. Bake for 15 minutes.
  6. Remove to a cooling rack and serve warm and gooey.

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posted by sheryl | 12:27 PM | comments (6)


 

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Raspberry almond clafoutis



A couple weeks ago, The Minimalist in the NYT had a recipe for clementine clafoutis. Clafoutis is a classic French dessert, basically fresh fruit baked in a batter, not unlike pancake batter. I thought that it was a great idea because now we have tons of mandarins in the house at any given time (it is the season, after all), and I always have the batter ingredients on hand (flour, sugar, eggs), so it's about the easiest dessert you can make in a pinch.

I had my doubts, however, about the oranges. I discovered, of course, that yes, there is a reason you don't usually hear of baked fruit desserts containing fresh oranges (I'm not talking about orange zest or juice). The batter was delish, but the mandarins were, well, basically just hot oranges. Which is exactly as appetizing as it sounds: ick.

The next night, I found a better use for that great easy batter recipe: berries and nuts. Now, it's not the season for raspberries at all, but frozen berries are, obviously, quite abundant. I used toasted sliced almonds because raspberries and almonds are so happy together.

You can totally pop this dessert in the oven as you are eating dinner, and it'll be ready when you're ready for dessert. And with creme fraiche and powdered sugar, it beats warm oranges any day.

Oh, by the way, eat this for breakfast or brunch sometime. I won't tell anyone.

Raspberry Almond Clafoutis
adapted from The Minimalist
makes 1 9-inch clafoutis

Ingredients
1 pint fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup flour
sweetened creme fraiche and powdered sugar for serving
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch pie pan, and tap out the excess flour.
  2. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Add the sugar and whisk. Add the cream, milk and vanilla. Add the flour and whisk until combined.
  3. Arrange the raspberries in the pie pan and pour the batter over it. Sprinkle the almonds over the batter.
  4. Bake for 40 minutes, or until puffed. It'll be a little custardy inside, but it's good that way. Serve with creme fraich and powdered sugar.

Links:
NY Times: The Minimalist: Clementines in a Blanket

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posted by sheryl | 5:13 PM | comments (5)


 

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Roman holiday


The Pantheon, as shot by the little chica

It's been a while since my previous post, but hopefully some travel pics will make up for it. During the holidays, my mom and niece came to visit, and as a treat, we went to Rome for a few days. We'll definitely have to make a return trip because three of the five days were spent tending to a sick baby with an awful stomach virus, poor thing. Thankfully, we were staying in an apartment in Prati, where there was no shortage of good takeout pizza.

I had come to Rome with a list of recommendations from various articles and blogs. But after Day 1, I came away a bit disappointed and discovered that coming with a list is totally unnecessary in Rome; I didn't need to seek out the absolute best coffee, or ice cream or pizza because if you stay in a regular, not-too-touristic neighborhood, the great stuff will just be at the place closest to your neighborhood. Within a few blocks of where we stayed, we stumbled on a really good bakery, a restaurant that was happy to do takeout pizza for us and a shop dedicated to fresh pasta of every sort (which we unfortunately did not have time to try.) The standard of things like coffee and ice cream is high everywhere, so, like Paris, it's not necessary to go across town for the one that the Times or the foodies on eGullet claim is the absolute best. Ultimately, maybe my palate isn't so refined, but who cares? We still had some great eats!

I discovered that I found central Rome to be incredibly touristic (not a surprise, but still a surprise, like the crowds at the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain, yikes!), and I also discovered that when given her own camera, my 10-year-old little chica takes some really nice pictures. In fact, while I was getting deja vu while snapping pictures of Piazza Navona and the like (you know how you feel like you've seen something 100 times before, but not in person?), she somehow captured some interesting shots of the photographed-for-the-millionth time Pantheon and Coliseum. There's something to be said for seeing something for the first time ever!


Here's Dolce Maniera, the bakery where we picked up fruit tarts and croissants. Kyle and I stopped in here because we saw a group of old ladies standing outside with bags, so we walked down this stairs to this bakery which seemed to always be this crowded. The cornetti were really nice: sweet but not too sweet, and they had an orange taste to it. We devoured a bag of them on the plane ride back to Holland. Oh and can I talk about queuing in Rome? I got the impression that there is none. You push your way to the front, that's the queue. What was funny is that on this night, there was a group of Filipinas there (no queuing over there either, believe me), so the crowd was twice as pushy. Go to a popular Filipino seafood market sometime and you'll know what I'm talking about!



Chestnut vendor in the Campo de' Fiori. We all loved the roasted chestnuts in the street. The smell alone was worth the trip. All the vendors used these drum grills and the same yellow paper cones.




Another treat in the Campo de' Fiori. Pizza from the Forno Campo de' Fiori. Not quite street food like panzerotti, but still awesome. The little guy likes.


Hot chocolate at Tazzo d'Oro, near the Pantheon. Hey, the coffee here wasn't too shabby either.


Sundried tomatoes at the market.


And of course, ice cream. Who cares that it's winter? I didn't have anything quite like Grom, but I didn't have anything bad either.


Little chica's shot of the Coliseum.

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posted by sheryl | 10:55 AM | comments (3)


 

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Madeleines, or if you prefer, teacakes



Several weeks ago, we took a short trip to Lorraine, France to check out some World War II historical sites, as well as to eat some quiche lorraine at the source. One thing I hadn't realized is that in the province of Lorraine is the town of Commercy, famous for madeleines. Madeleines are, of course, the famous little cakes that triggered the memories that triggered Proust's novel A la recherche de temps perdu, (Rememberance of Things Past). (And no, I'm not the preeminent Proust scholar in the country.)

I mentioned that we were going to the region where madeleines were invented to the 10-year-old. I told her they were the cute little shell-shaped cakes. She immediately recounted her Remembrance of Madeleines Past. "Oh yeah, madeleines. I remember we were in Starbucks once and you wouldn't buy one for me." Doh! So I let her know that, "Yeah, but now you get to have madeleines that are actually good."

Although we didn't get to Commercy, she was able to have one for dessert in the town of Verdun. While we were there, I went into a hardware store to buy a couple of madeleine tins. The ones that are tinned metal rather than non-stick are actually kind of hard to find here in Holland. Some of these local little hardware stores are really weird in rural France. Right next to vacuum cleaner bags, you might find a full array of Le Creuset cookware in all colors. Anyway, I found the tins (6 euros each!) and tried to find the checkout counter. First of all, let me say that this store clearly hadn't changed since 1964. And neither had its clientele. I was the only one there under the age of, oh, 60 or so. And did I mention the lighting was like it was a garage? And there was no heat on so the proprietors were wearing their winter coats? So after waiting in line for what seemed like forever, I had to ditch the pans and leave because 1) there didn't appear to be a cash register anywhere in site, and 2) Kyle was waiting outside for me with a screaming baby.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find those same pans here-- only non-stick and silicone. So in the meantime, tiny tin brioche pans have had to do. So maybe these technically aren't madeleines then, but teacakes. They are a bit on the dense and slightly dry side (as true madeleines are), but I've given them a bit of an orange flavor, and they are really nice for dunking in coffee or tea, if you want to go all Proust on it.

These are really easy to make -- it is basically a standard genoise batter spooned into smaller molds. Have all ingredients at room temperature, particularly the eggs, as this is an important factor. As there is no leavener, make sure to beat the eggs until they've tripled in volume. They will give the cakes their lift. As a result, it's important to use the batter right away.

Teacakes not Madeleines
Makes 24 teacakes

Ingredients
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
zest from one orange
pinch salt
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted then cooled to room temperature
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. (200 C). Butter and flour the molds, generously. This is really important if you are using standard tins, but do it anyway if you are using non-stick because it will still make removal easier.
  2. Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat on medium-high until it has tripled in volume and a ribbon forms, about 3 minutes. Beat in the orange zest and salt.
  3. Sprinkle one third of the flour over the egg mixture. Gently fold it in until combined. Repeat twice more, with the rest of the flour, being sure to fold as gently as possible.
  4. Place the butter in a medium bowl. Stir in one third of the egg/flour mixture. Pour the butter/egg/flour mixture back into the rest of the batter, making sure, once again to fold as gently as possible.
  5. Pour immediately into the molds. Bake for 10 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the molds for 5 minutes then remove to a rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

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posted by sheryl | 3:26 PM | comments (1)


 

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Gobble Gobble!

We're having a lazy Thanksgiving. We live in Holland, where it's not a holiday, so everyone went to work, school, etc. So what are we eating? Chinese takeout. That said, we are going to celebrate proper Thanksgiving over the weekend, so you can forgive me for eating chow fun today.

In the meantime, I was looking at previous posts on Crispy Waffle, and have some suggestions if you haven't made dessert yet. Thanksgiving is one of those days where you want one of those 'ooh, ahh' desserts to hit the table. So here are some kickass tarts you can wow your family with. (And going along with my laziness theme, I will just link to the Crispy Waffle posts where the recipes are located.)


This linzertorte is both impressive and fast-- you can make it in a couple of hours, thanks to the sneaky cheaty lattice.
Linzertorte with cheater's lattice


Mmmm, chocolate...
Chocolate walnut tart with dulce de leche


Coconut makes a yummy tropical touch for Thanksgiving-- forget that tired old pumpkin pie!
Coconut caramel tart

Enjoy!

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posted by sheryl | 4:30 PM | comments (0)


 

Friday, November 09, 2007

Quark ice cream



I haven't been doing a whole lot of ice cream experimenting lately, mainly because autumn has set in with a vengeance. You know it's fall when everyone riding their bikes in Den Haag have simultaneously busted out the ubiquitous wool scarves. (It's one of those things that makes you feel like the expat that didn't get the memo for the Opening Day of Scarf Season.)

However, I had been having an interesting correspondence with Grant, a Crispy Waffle reader all about ice cream makers and textural improvements to ice cream. A topic I've alluded to before, one of my issues with homemade ice cream is that it never seems to have the 'chew' that I want, especially after being in the freezer overnight. I've been upping the sugar-- especially basterd sugar, which contains invert sugar. Invert sugar is sweeter but has the same role as corn syrup; it does increase chewiness in baked goods, and seems to have a similar impact on ice cream. The sugar helps lower the freezing point, keeping it from being too icy. However, the ice cream was getting too sweet for my taste. I mentioned this to Grant, and he suggested an increase in milk solids through the use of dried milk powder. This was a total "oh yeah" moment for me-- I remembered reading here that milk solids also play a role in lowering freezing point, but had only accidentally accomplished this through the use of sweetened condensed milk in some recipes. So thanks to my new ice cream buddy, the texture of my homemade ice cream has dramatically improved. One of the things I love about having a blog is that it connects me to like-minded people. I have bored the hell out of people when they ask, "Do you like your ice cream maker?" and I go on a rant and rave about textural quality and invert sugar. This is a pretty good way to get someone to start eyeing escape routes in the room. Not so when you have an email thread with someone willing to rhapsodize about the virtues of Philadelphia-style ice cream versus custard-style, the ratios of cream to milk, and the texture of super-premium ice creams.

I don't have access to very 'neutral' flavored powdered milk, which Grant mentioned is important to usage in this case (you won't get that nasty dried-milk flavor invading your ice cream). I tend to use instead sweetened condensed milk and/or evaporated milk to increase the milk solids percentage, both of which have double to milk solids of ordinary milk. In the process, I've noticed that using other dairy products such as creme fraiche also naturally increases the percentage of milk solids in the mixture. Going further with this, I experimented with quark, a type of cheese that resembles a cross between sour cream and cream cheese. In fact, it is often used here in the Netherlands for making cheesecake.

The results were really nice, and resulted in an ice cream that tasted kind of like cheesecake as well. You can go with this theme, adding mix-ins that are 'cheesecakey': lemon zest, or graham crackers or cherry jam swirled in. If you don't have access to quark, you can substitute with equal parts sour cream and cream cheese. I love this ice cream with just a classic shortbread, which is super easy to make and in a way, resembles a cheesecake crust.

Quark ice cream
makes about 1 quart

Ingredients
1 cup quark
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
zest from one lemon (optional)
  1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the egg yolks and the sugar. Beat with whisk attachment over medium speed for 3 minutes or so, until the mixture is lightened and doubled in volume.
  2. Heat the milk, cream and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until just steaming. Add the milk mixture in a steady stream into the egg mixture, stirring with a hand whisk the entire time (so the eggs don't curdle).
  3. Put the entire egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan and add the lemon zest, if using. Stirring constantly, heat over medium until the mixture reaches 175 degrees. (To use the old kitchen measure-- it'll be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon).
  4. Pour through a strainer into a large bowl. Cool for just a couple minutes, then stir in the quark. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until very cold. (I like to leave it overnight or all day, when I can).
  5. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Freeze to let it ripen for a couple of hours, then serve with cookies, such as the classic shortbread, below.

Classic shortbread
makes 1 8-inch pan of shortbread
The is super buttery, so make sure you use really nice tasting butter, as there's not much else to compete with it.

Ingredients
150 grams (about 10 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

  1. Preheat oven to 300 F (150 C). Combine the butter, powdered sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, and not grainy, about 2-3 minutes.
  2. Sift the flour and cornstarch over the butter mixture and stir until blended. The dough should be rather dry, but should hold together. Press into an 8-inch baking pan. Using a fork, mark the outlines of your shortbread squares (to make it easier to cut later).
  3. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and cut into squares.

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posted by sheryl | 10:04 AM | comments (1)


 

Thursday, November 01, 2007

No cookie recipe for you!



Whenever it starts getting close to the holidays, I start thinking about cookies. Not that I don't think about cookies all the time, but I start thinking about specific cookies.

My favorite holiday cookies are butterhorns. They are crispy, sugary, and shaped like little baby croissants. Kind of like rugelach without the jam. My mom makes dozens and dozens of these every Christmas, to keep and give away as gifts, and they never lasted very long in our house.

I was just up on my Flickr account recently and saw some pictures I took many months ago of a batch of butterhorns I had baked with my mom's recipe. I had wanted to post te recipe here, but when I phoned my mom, she was like, "No, you are not posting my recipe."

I should have expected such a response. I've grown up with many Filipina cooks in my family, both on my dad's and mom's side, and every one is loathe to share recipes. When they do, you might as well throw the recipe away, because odds are they've left out 1) a crucial step, or 2) a crucial ingredient. As a result, your version of your Auntie's famed ensaimadas are too dry, or your pancit is just somehow a little bit off. I'm not sure what they're afraid of-- maybe that you will become the Pancit Queen of the family and their glory will be taken from them. They imagine you cackling and rubbing your hands together, "The pancit palabok fortune will be mine!"

My sister and mom have been begging my Auntie for her suman recipe for years. (Suman is a delicious sweet rice and coconut dessert, wrapped in banana leaves.) It's gotten to the point where, not only will she not give the recipe, but she's not about to let anyone watch her make it. Yes, it is clear we won't ever get our grubby hands on that recipe. Maybe she's doing the right thing; it has certainly elevated the suman to family fame status.

So no suman, ensaimada or butterhorns recipe will appear here these days, although here's a pic of said butterhorns to make you determined to get at it.

Just like I'm determined to publish my very own pancit recipe. hOh yes, I will be the Pancit Queen.


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posted by sheryl | 11:41 AM | comments (6)


 

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The best (and easiest) yeasted waffle

I've realized by the comments on my Perfect Waffle post that my actual go-to waffle recipe is hidden away in another post. Both involve yeast (of course-- don't make waffles without it!), but my first recipe involves separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites right before making the waffles. Eventually, I found this tiresome on a weekend morning when I haven't even had my coffee yet. So the recipe I actually use all the time involves combining all the ingredients and raising the batter in the refrigerator overnight. The waffles are still super crispy in the morning and you don't have to bust out a hand mixer! Perfect for a pre-coffee bleary-eyed Saturday morning.

The Easiest Crispiest Yeasted Waffles

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 stick melted butter (1/2 cup or 110 grams)
2 cups warm milk (heated to about 110 degrees)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

The night before:
  1. Combine and whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
  2. Combine the melted butter and milk. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients.
  3. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in a separate small bowl. Add the egg-vanilla mixture to the other mixture, and whisk until well-combined.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge until tomorrow morning. (The batter can rise for 10 to 24 hours.)
The next morning:
  1. Prepare waffle iron as usual. Stir the batter to deflate it (it should be puffy and frothy).
  2. Add to waffle iron the same way you would other batter, keeping in mind that this batter will rise more than batters that use baking powder instead of yeast.



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posted by sheryl | 7:44 AM | comments (3)


 

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Wacky ice cream 1: Sweet potato

So taking advantage of my new ice cream maker, I've decided to revisit some weirdo flavors I've been experimenting with over the years, back when I was using my plan-way-ahead-of-time Krups ice cream maker. I thought, "Why not a series?" so here's the first one.

I found a recipe for sweet potato ice cream in The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, but like all of Weinstein's recipes, I modified it. (I often find his recipes sickeningly sweet, and at times even cut the sugar to a quarter of what he calls for.) I liked his idea of roasting the sweet potatoes so that they caramelize, so this is how I started my recipe.

For whatever reason, the normal grocery stores in Holland don't seem to carry sweet potatoes, and when they do, it usually is the normal pale type rather than the sweeter bright orange varieties. Don't quiz me on the variety names-- I have no idea really, besides "orange" and "yellow". So anyway, they carry sweet potatoes / yams at the big open market, but being too lazy to go down there, I picked some up at the regular store for like, 3 euros a pound or something ridiculous. But given that it was going toward ice cream, I figured that perhaps it was worth the cost.

I started with what is developing into my standard custard base and mixed in the sweet potato puree that the four-year-old kitchen helper made with a strainer. (He was bored, I wasn't letting him watch TV or play Gameboy that afternoon, so what was a boy to do?) If you don't have a four-year-old kitchen helper, don't worry; you can use a food processor instead.

The result is a sweet ice cream that, for me, tastes like a cross between candied sweet potatoes and ube (purple yam). Those who eat it must be fans of sweet potatoes-- if they aren't, this recipe won't convert them. But if you love candied yams, this will taste heavenly.


Making sweet potato puree-- the old fashioned way

Sweet potato ice cream
makes about 1 quart

Ingredients
2 pounds (about 1 kilo) sweet potatoes, the kind with the orange flesh (not orange skin)
1 cup whole milk
1-1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub the sweet potatoes, arrange in a baking dish and bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender enough to put a skewer through easily. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temp.
  2. Combine the eggs and sugar in a standing mixer. Beat until lightened in color and a ribbon forms.
  3. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and cream to barely a simmer and slowly pour into the egg mixture, whisking the whole time to prevent the eggs from curdling. Transfer back into the saucepan.
  4. Stirring constantly over medium-low heat, bring the mixture to 180 degrees. (It'll be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon). Remove from heat and add the vanilla
  5. Peel the sweet potatoes. Add a pinch of salt, and using a sieve or a food processor, make a puree.
  6. Strain the custard into the sweet potato puree and make sure it's well combined. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
  7. Freeze according to the instructions on your ice cream maker. This ice cream tastes excellent with salted pecans!

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posted by sheryl | 12:16 AM | comments (3)


 

Monday, June 25, 2007

SHF: Chocolate malt, perfected


My retro craving: notice that the straw stands up straight.

I like the theme of this month's Sugar High Fridays: Cravings. There are desserts I make a lot (like brownies because they are ridiculously easy and you get your chocolate and sugar fix instantly), and then there are others that if a craving hits me, I will run out -- meaning, I will make a special trip -- and get the ingredients.

Once the weather hits the no-long-sleeves point every summer, the first thing I want is a chocolate malt. I grew up in Milwaukee, where the fave frozen confection is frozen custard, a softer version of ice cream, and fattier than gelato. Man, it is soooo good. I honestly don't know why they don't have this stuff all over the U.S. (I am partial to Kopps-- this is where I would get my turtle sundae fix as a kid.) Chocolate malts are alive and well in the Midwest, like, real chocolate malts where: 1) it is so thick the straw stands up, and 2) they always, always give you the tin with the extra malt in it that was used in the shake blender. You know, because it's not fattening enough just to have the malt that's in the glass, right?

So where I live now (Europe) chocolate malts are non-existent, so I make my own. This way, I can also take total charge of the ingredients, so I'll use ice cream and chocolate syrup I made. And, of course, Horlicks malt powder which thankfully I can get at the British expat store. Don't use that Carnation stuff, which is super sweet and has chocolate powder in it and whatnot. Horlicks can be found, oddly enough, in a lot of Asian grocery stores. This is the stuff that will make you an addict. Oh, speaking of, as a kid I ate a lot of the Horlicks malt tablets, which were a type of candy. I cannot find this stuff anywhere! I wonder if anyone else craves this-- I know I didn't imagine it because my sister remembers them too.

There are purists who believe that chocolate malts should be made with vanilla ice cream, obtaining their chocolate flavor from just the syrup. I don't care either way; but I personally prefer it with vanilla ice cream just because it seems to taste like just the right ratio of chocolate to malt. Plus there's something about the chocolate that comes from a syrup that gives it that kitschy, retro soda fountain taste. (I don't know how else to explain it. But anyway, a premium, super chocolate ice cream is not going to get you that same nostalgic taste I'm talking about!)

So make a classic chocolate malt -- you won't be disappointed, even if you make it with store-bought vanilla and Hershey's syrup. For the love of Mike, don't use ice cubes. But make sure to use the Horlicks.

My ideal chocolate malt
makes one large malt, or two short ones, if you want to share


Ingredients
3 scoops vanilla ice cream (my recipe for Philadelphia-style is here)
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup (recipe below)
1/2 cup whole milk (very very cold-- keep it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so)
3 tablespoons Horlicks malt powder

  1. Pour the ingredients into a blender and pulse for 20-30 seconds.
  2. Top with whipped cream and if you want to go seriously classic, a maraschino cherry.

Chocolate syrup
I really like this chocolate syrup because it is not too sweet, but is still really chocolatey. I find commercial chocolate syrup too sugary. You can also use a tablespoon of this in a cup of hot milk to make quick hot chocolate.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  1. Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and bring to a slight simmer.
  2. Add the cocoa and salt and whisk until smooth. Simmer lightly for about 3 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature. Keep in the refrigerator.

Links:
Domestic Goddess: Sugar High Friday
Wikipedia: Horlicks
Crispy Waffle: Vanilla bean ice cream
Crispy Waffle: Super chocolatey ice cream
Kopps Frozen Custard

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posted by sheryl | 9:17 AM | comments (7)


 

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Super Chocolate



After I wrecked the freezer bowl on my Krups ice cream maker, I decided to get serious and spring for an ice cream maker with a compressor. This basically translates into an ice cream maker with its own freezer, so you can make ice cream whenever you want. After some research, I ended up with a Nemox Gelatissimo, which looks like some sort of miniature toilet. Yes, not the most attractive thing to have hogging up precious space on the kitchen counter.


Nemox Gelatissimo. Does it flush?

Anyway, it ended up being 220 euros which is a pretty good deal as this seems to usually go for about 400 euros. It seems like I'll have to make more than a few ice cream cones to make up for the cost, but hey, I have kids that loooove ice cream. Plus I can make all my weirdo flavors like corn, avocado, etc. that you can't get at the ice cream joint around the corner.

So now I am totally obsessed and have been making ice cream nearly every day. So I'm learning a lot-- I'm trying to perfect the texture, which is a much harder thing to do than get the flavorings and sweetness right. Ice cream is all about texture. So some things I've learned so far:
  • Too much butterfat will taste like, well, butterfat. Some Italian machines, like Simac, Nemox, etc. will churn a super fatty mixture into basically, butter. So a good balance of milk and cream is necessary.
  • Custard ice cream bases are soooo much smoother. I do like Philadelphia-style (which basically means eggless ice cream) for a basic vanilla, but in most cases, I prefer a custard that starts with egg yolks. This makes the mixture really smooth, as it is an emulsion you are starting with.
  • Sugar does more than just make it sweet. Sugar also helps improve texture-- it prevents the mixture from getting too icy, and lowers the freezing point. If you are like me and are curious about food science, you can get your fill about ice cream science here. Because I live in Holland, I have access to this weird form of sugar called white basterd sugar (yes, it really is called basterd sugar, although spelled differently than, I don't know, Fat Bastard). I guess we can call this Sweet Basterd. So this Sweet Basterd is a sugar that is basically the texture of brown sugar, but white. Because it partially contains inverted sugar syrup, it makes for a 'chewier' ice cream, and this type of sweetener behaves a bit like corn syrup-- it depresses the freezing point even further. (Yes, food science again! I have to experiment with white basterd sugar for other goods that need 'chew', such as brownies. More on this later!)



White basterd sugar-- it looks a bit like shave ice, and it feels exactly like traditional brown sugar.

With these things to remember, I've been working on the perfect custard (for me, at least). I'm not there yet, but I have been able to develop my go-to chocolate ice cream recipe. This is way over the top on the chocolate, but without being too fatty; I use more milk than cream in this recipe. Try it if you want total chocolate flavor without it being too sweet.

I have been making ice cream and then letting it sit in the freezer for 2 hours before we eat it. I think it hardens up too much (our freezer is 15 degrees centigrade) past that point, but 2 hours in, the texture is that perfect chewy, a bit melty, gelato-y texture. (In the picture above, it had been in the freezer for 4-5 hours, so you can see that it has gotten more of that American style hard-scoop texture. But it was still good!)

Super Chocolatey Ice Cream
makes approximately 1 quart

Ingredients
1-3/4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa, such as Droste
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup white basterd sugar (if you don't have access to this, substitute 1/3 cup white granulated sugar)
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons vodka (optional)

  1. Combine the eggs and the sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is lightened in color, and thickened, about 3 minutes.
  2. In a heavy saucepan, bring the milk and salt to a simmer, whisk in the cocoa and simmer until the cocoa is dissolved.
  3. Add the milk mixture to the egg mixture slowly, in a steady stream, whisking the whole time -- this tempers the eggs and keeps them from curdling. Place the milk/egg mixture back in the saucepan.
  4. Over low heat, stir the mixture constantly, until it reaches 180 degrees F. Pour through a strainer into a clean bowl.
  5. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream just barely to a boil in a saucepan and pour it over the chocolate. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until the mixture is totally smooth, with no chocolate pieces.
  6. Pour the ganache into the custard. Refrigerate until cold, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to instructions.

Links:
Slate:
Which machines whip up the best ice cream?
Crispy Waffle: When life hands you vanilla, make ice cream
UG Dairy Science and Technology: Structure of Ice Cream

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posted by sheryl | 6:25 PM | comments (7)


 

Monday, May 21, 2007

SHF 31: Caramelize!

I've decided to submit this recipe for SHF 31: Neutral Territory. The theme is sweets in shades of white. To be honest, I rarely make desserts that don't involve some form of chocolate (hey, I have a house full of chocolate addicts!) but this is one of my current favorite, creamy white desserts. Plus, what's whiter than coconut and cream?

A couple of weeks ago I found unsweetened shredded coconut at the Asian grocery store. This was a big deal because 1) I wasn't sure I could get it here, without shredding it myself, and 2) it was hella cheap. A bag the size of say, a box of cereal was 1.65 euro. So I bought half that-- it was 80 cents -- and I still have a huge plastic container of it. As a result of this bounty, I decided to work on coconut cream pie.

I inserted coconut into every element of the pie: the crust, the custard, and I put toasted coconut on the top. I usually dislike American coconut cream pie because it is made with sweetened coconut flakes (gross) and it doesn't taste much like real coconut. Rather, as Cooks Illustrated put it, it tastes more like suntan lotion. (Not that I eat suntan lotion, but you know what I mean!)

The resulting tart tasted sooo good and coconut-y, but I decided I wanted to totally put this over the top. And what's more over the top than adding caramel? So first, I added dulce de leche to the custard itself. This turned out okay, but not great. What was really strange was that this version came out tasting like Girl Scout Samoas cookies for some reason, even though there was no chocolate. Tasty, but not like, 'wow' tasty.

I then was like, "Why not just set the caramel over the crust, then put the custard over it?" This simplified things because if you have caramel or dulce de leche on hand (as I usually do- yeah, that's right) then all you have to do is heat it a bit and pour it over the crust without the annoyance of adding it to the custard. Voila! This was the over-the-top tart that I was looking for, and our dinner friends, Vanja, Ruth and Rachel approved (and requested the recipe, so here you go!)



Coconut caramel cream tart
makes one 9-inch tart

Ingredients

For the coconut shortbread crust:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (115 grams)
2 tablespoons grated coconut (NOT the sweetened kind!)
1/4 cup sugar (25 grams)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter (110 grams), cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 egg yolk

For the filling:
1/2 cup dulce de leche, cajeta or caramel
1 can coconut milk (a 14 oz. or 400 gram can)
1 cup milk (240 ml)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup grated coconut (50 grams) (the same unsweetened kind as above)
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch (30 grams)
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping (this is optional; I personally like the tart without whipped cream, but most people I know prefer it with the cream):
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons grated unsweetened coconut, toasted in a dry pan until brown



  1. Preparing the shortbread crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees centigrade.) Butter a 9-inch tart pan or springform pan. (If using a springform pan, you can also line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter the parchment paper.) Combine the flour, coconut, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, and using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and bring the mixture together with your hand until it forms a ball.
  2. Pat the crust in the prepared pan. (It is a soft crumbly crust, so I've found that unless it is refrigerated for several hours, it is almost impossible to roll out.) Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the crust is golden but not totally brown. Set on a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.
  3. The caramel: Warm the caramel a little and add a bit of water (if needed) to give it the consistency of honey. Pour the caramel on the cooled shortbread crust and tilt the crust so the caramel covers the entire bottom of the crust. Cool to room temperature.
  4. The custard: Bring the coconut milk, milk, shredded coconut, sugar and salt to a slight simmer in a medium saucepan.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch and 1 tablespoon sugar together. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture over the eggs, whisking the entire time (this tempers the eggs).
  6. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan. Stirring with a spoon or whisk, bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 full minute. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and butter. Stir until the vanilla is incorporated.
  7. Transfer immediately to the pie crust and smooth the surface. Cover with cling wrap directly touching the custard. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
  8. The topping: Refrigerate or freeze your mixing bowl and beaters for a half hour or so. Meanwhile, toast the coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
  9. Just before serving, place the cream and sugar in the mixing bowl and beat over medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, spread over the top of the tart. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and serve immediately.

Links:
Crispy waffle: Dulce de leche recipe
Crispy waffle: Cajeta recipe

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posted by sheryl | 1:15 PM | comments (5)


 

Friday, January 19, 2007

SHF 27: Droste chocolate cake



This month's theme for Sugar High Friday is Chocolate by Brand. Initially I thought I would participate by making something with one of my favorite dark chocolates, Scharffen-Berger or Valrhona (since I can't get Scharffen-Berger here in Europe. Or, at least I don't know where to get it.) Here in Holland, it seems even the most common chocolate is really good. Even the local grocery store chain, Albert Heijn, has their generic house brand of chocolate produced by Callebaut, the prominent Belgian company. That said, the secret is that the French win in the chocolate department. All the worthwhile chocolate shops here seem to make their bon bons with Valrhona, a French chocolate. The Belgians may know their bon bons, but the French know their chocolate.

But the winners when it comes to cocoa are the Dutch. Know the term "Dutch cocoa"? Yep, that's right, it was actually invented here, in the 19th century by one Coenraad J. van Houten. 'Dutching' is a method in which the cocoa is processed to create a more alkaline product. (Cocoa has a naturally high level of acidity. with a pH of about 5.4.) This creates cocoa that is darker, milder and less bitter. To 'Dutch' cocoa, cocoa nibs are soaked in an alkaline solution that raises the pH level to 7. In the process, it becomes darker as well, as opposed to the 'grayer' color of non-Dutched cocoa. (Non-Dutch-processed cocoa is also referred to as 'non-alkalized'.)

The most famous of the Dutch cocoa brands is Droste. It also has the most famous branding, the nun/nurse (all I know is she is described in Dutch as verpleegster, which is nurse. I've never seen a nurse like that, but whatever.) She stands on the box, staring at you with her steely, cold blue eyes. The box on her tray also stares at you with the box's nurse's steely cold blue eyes. And on and on. (In Dutch, this visual 'infinity' effect is even known as 'The Droste effect'. Sorry, I'm a graphic designer, so I couldn't resist this piece of visual history.) I guess she's trying to hypnotize you with her chocolate drink.

But she doesn't need to hypnotize us because Droste is excellent cocoa. In my mind, it makes the best darkest, tastiest chocolate cake. Don't bother with actual chocolate in your basic American-style chocolate cake; cocoa is the way to go. (Save the good chocolate for where it'll matter, such as a flourless chocolate cake or a souffle.) Chocolate does weird stuff to the consistency and never seems to actually make a basic cake taste the most chocolatey. Cocoa on the other hand, gives intense chocolate flavor in cake without compromising the texture.

This cake I made for my son's daycare class. It's fantastic with chocolate buttercream, but for a group of 3-year-olds, I skipped the frosting and just dusted it with powdered sugar. I then filled it with a thin layer of vanilla bean buttercream. The whole thing is not too sweet-- which is just the way I like desserts. The leftovers were great with tea that afternoon.



Dark Chocolate Cake made with Droste Cocoa
adapted from The Best Recipe

For the cake:
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup Droste cocoa
2 teaspoons espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature